A $46 million state effort to modernize the unemployment insurance system is causing frustration and anxiety for some unemployed workers who say they're not getting the benefits they're owed and don't know where to turn for help.

The Department of Unemployment Assistance last week launched a new website and phone system to process claims for unemployment insurance. At the same time, the department stopped accepting paper applications for weekly claims. About 2,000 people out of about 120,000 had been filing by paper, according to Michelle Amante, director of the department.

But about 15 local job seekers and activists protested the changes in Worcester Monday, holding signs and chanting outside Workforce Central Career Center at 44 Front St. They said the new system was hurting poor and working-class people.

"It is a disaster, from everything we've heard, except from people at the top," said Chris Horton, organizer with the Worcester Unemployment Action Group.

Gwen Davis, another protester, said, "Who is this system serving? It's not serving the workers, it's serving the rulers."

The group said unemployed workers previously could go to career centers, like the one in downtown Worcester, to file claims and ask questions about their benefits, but this kind of face-to-face service was discontinued last week.

Career center and state unemployment officials confirmed that applicants are being asked to use the phone and Internet more than in the past. But career center staff are still available to help claimants navigate the computer system, they said. The main difference is staff are no longer filling out forms for people who come to career centers.

None of the staff at the state's network of career centers, or the 230 call center employees who process claims on the phone, are being laid off, according to the Department of Unemployment Assistance. Rather, their roles are changing.

Donald H. Anderson, director of the Worcester career center, acknowledged the changes require some adjustment. Not only is the computer system new, but the phone system has been revamped with new prompts and options.

"It's going to be a learning curve for some folks because the entire system has changed," Mr. Anderson said.

Unemployment benefits are paid weekly to laid-off workers. Applicants must file an initial claim, then renew weekly. Benefits are capped at $674 a week and end after 30 weeks.

In Massachusetts, 6,356 people filed initial claims for unemployment benefits in the week ending June 22, while another 78,543 continued claims, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The statewide unemployment rate, adjusted for seasonal changes, is 6.6 percent, but the rate is higher in Central Massachusetts — 7.4 percent in the Worcester area and 9 percent in the Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner area.

The state launched a new computer system, called UI Online, on July 1 to process claims. The system will be paid for through state IT bond funding, said Lauren Jones, spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, which includes DUA. State officials expect the $46 million cost to be returned as savings or "value added" by 2015.

The state also expects to save $1 million a year with another change: eliminating paper checks and offering direct deposit or debit cards instead.

Ms. Amante, DUA director, said the changes were necessary.

"Our old system was 30 years old," she said. "It was very inefficient... This wasn't really a choice for us. We had to move to a modern system."

The new Web system gives applicants more control and access, she said, adding: "Now they can file their initial claim online, they can file an appeal, they can check their payment system history. It provides a lot of transparency about their claims."

But not all unemployed workers see the changes as positive. Many have faced long wait times on the phone system or problems with the Web system.

Michelle Arnhold of Worcester, out of work for several months, said she hasn't been able to collect unemployment benefits in three weeks because neither the website nor the phone system has worked for her.

"I can't get a person on the phone," she said. "I tried their website. It keeps giving me errors."

Ms. Arnhold said she has changed careers three times in recent years, moving from flooring to massage therapy to human services, and is now pursuing a bachelor's degree at Becker College as she tries to find yet another job. The mother of two doesn't have any savings to fall back on.

"I'm a single parent," she said. "I've got nothing."

State Rep. James J. O'Day, D-West Boylston, said he's watching the issue after getting complaints from constituents over the past few days.

"Change is difficult," he said. "When you're facing unemployment and you're not getting answers as quickly as you'd like them through the computer, it might be nice to have that face-to-face contact. I don't know that the IT is quite there yet for this particular process."